Sony plans to unlock more value

Article Excerpt

SONY GROUP CORP. ADRs $87 is a hold. The Japanese conglomerate (New York symbol SONY; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $113.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.sony.com) plans to sell shares in its financial services business to the public in October 2025. Those operations provide a range of banking, life insurance and other services in Japan, and accounted for 17% of the company’s profits in the quarter ending December 31, 2023. The parent will retain a 20% stake in the business. The partial spinoff will help reduce Sony’s holding company discount. Meantime, the company expects to sell 21 million of its PlayStation 5 video game consoles in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024; that’s down from its earlier forecast of 25 million. Sales of the device will likely continue to weaken as buyers wait for the next version. Sony is a hold. hold…